Outer Hebrides (GM): 2005

Martin G3ZAY, Michael G7VJR, and Danny M0GMT visited the Outer Hebrides from August 23rd to 29th. The weather proved to be exceptionally windy and not only prevented a trip to St Kilda but resulted in an outbound rerouting via Skye instead of a direct ferry from Oban. Danny made some QSOs from Skye in the Inner Hebrides IOTA group (EU-008) and both Danny and Michael operated from the outer islands (EU-010). On the Summits on the Air (SOTA) front Michael and Danny activated Clisham, the highest peak in the outer islands, and Toddun which rises steeply from the youth hostel at Rhenigidale. Propagation from the summit of Toddun was particularly remarkable with a massive pile-up despite only 30W to a low dipole.

The team visited Rockall veteran James Cameron MM0CYJ at his croft on South Uist and had a first hand account of the recent IOTA activation which made a couple of hundred contacts. James is keen to go back but a return visit seems unlikely in the next year or so as all his fishermen friends take their boats up north to Greenland during the summer. We will be staying in touch with him as he is always keen to visit the local IOTA groups (Monachs, Flannans, and Shiants) in his 19 foot dory and we may be able to mount a joint DXpedition next year. James is a keen 6m operator and we hope to contact him when we have our new SteppIR beam installed.